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Stories from Sarnia court

A Massachusetts woman who inadvertently crossed into Canada with one and half kilograms of marijuana packed in mason jars has been sentenced to 44 days in jail and fined $3,000.

Elizabeth Ann Guzman, 54, pled guilty in Sarnia court to the importation of marijuana at the Blue Water Bridge.

On November 8, Guzman had been travelling throughout the U.S. for three weeks in a van selling her leathercraft. In accordance with directions from a global positioning system she crossed the bridge although she had not intended to enter Canada.

It is hard to imagine how Canada could be entered inadvertently via the bridge but it is not the first time it has happened, said Justice Mark Hornblower.

Guzman was sent for a secondary inspection where Canada Border Services Agency officers spotted marijuana cigarettes in the vehicle.

A further examination with the aid of a drug-detection dog found 1,540 grams of marijuana mostly in mason jars amidst a large volume of personal possessions.

Guzman told police she uses marijuana for pain relief but did not have official authorization to have it for medical purposes.

Guzman, who expects to become a grandmother in December, had the marjuana solely for personal use, said defence lawyer Ken Marley.

A charge of possession for trafficking was not proceeded with although there was a significant quantify of marijuana, said federal prosecutor Michael Robb.

The packaging in mason jars was unusual as trafficking usually involves many small plastic bags and there were no scales found,said Robb.

The joint submission by Crown and defence lawyers for the jail time and fine seemed reasonable given the somewhat unique circumstances, said Hornblower.

“Thank you very much,” said Guzman, whose sister was travelling to Sarnia to pay the fine so she can be released when the jail sentence ends.

The jail time includes 14 days of pre-sentence custody.

A mandatory 10-year weapons ban in Canada was imposed but it is unlikely Guzman will be allowed to return to Canada, said Hornblower.

A young woman parked her bicycle near a window at the Sarnia library so she could keep an eye on it while inside the library.

Nijjar hovered around the bike for a short time before riding off with the woman in pursuit.

Nijjar escaped but the woman’s description led to Nijjar as a suspect and the woman identified him from a photo line-up.

Nijjar was on probation at the time.

There was a joint submission by defence and Crown lawyers for a 45-day jail sentence.

The jail time was clearly at the low end of the range given Nijjar’s criminal record, said Justice Deborah Austin.

Appeal courts have indicated joint submissions should be respected unless the sentencing judge provides reasons to deviate from it.

Austin said she would accept the joint submission with reluctance taking into account Nijjar’s early guilty plea and the potential difficulty of proving the case at trial based on the known fragility of eye-witness identification.

The victim had a fleeting glimpse of the thief, said Austin.

The jail includes seven days of pre-sentence custody. It will be followed by a year’s probation.

During probation Nijjar must play $800 in restitution for the bike that was never recovered, unless he can show his probation officer his financial circumstances prevent restitution.

Nijjar is currently unemployed but plans to move to Nova Scotia for a fresh start, said defence lawyer Matt Stone.